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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24299731">it goes like this</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/clasch/pseuds/clasch'>clasch</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>they go like this [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Boys In Love, Cas has a garden, Cas's first human birthday, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Newly Human Castiel (Supernatural)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:13:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24299731</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/clasch/pseuds/clasch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Benny celebrate Castiel's first human "birthday."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel/Benny Lafitte/Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>they go like this [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774189</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>it goes like this</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepinnude/gifts">sleepinnude</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>edited june 4 to say now a series(ish)! at the very least, a set of loosely related works. enjoy! ♥</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mornings go like this: Benny’s up first to put on a pot of coffee and greet Sam before his run, then he settles back down to read (in bed) or knit (in the armchair on Dean’s side). Dean knows when Benny starts the day because Cas rolls over and flops an arm and a leg over him in Benny’s absence. Then Dean’s up an hour or so later, but he lingers in bed to tame the frankly astonishing mess that is Cas’s bedhead until he’s hungry. Benny rubs soothing circles into Dean’s back with one hand (if he’s reading) or hums quietly (if he’s knitting). After Dean untangles himself from Cas, he and Benny switch off making breakfast for the two of them (eggs from Dean, pancakes from Benny). They take turns eating, so Cas isn’t left alone. And they both end up back in bed waiting for Cas to deem the hour acceptable for consciousness. He’s finally up by (late) mid-morning, shuffling to the kitchen with his eyes still half-shut as if magnetically drawn to the coffee pot. Cas waits for Benny to make a new pot for his second cup, snacking on a slice of peanut butter toast and whatever’s in season from the garden, which means Cas often has vegetables for breakfast. Brunch. Whatever. Dean tells Cas bell peppers (or parsnips or asparagus or zucchini) and peanut butter toast is a disgusting combination, and Cas narrows his eyes in a somehow even more threatening way than when he was an angel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So that’s how it goes the morning of Cas’s first human “birthday,” a year after he ripped out his grace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At exactly way-too-frigging-early o’clock, Benny’s out of bed, which Dean knows, since suddenly there’s an ex-angel lying almost completely on top of him. If Dean sleeps like a bear, Cas sleeps like a koala, clinging to one or the other of them, peaceful-looking (and adorable) but vicious if provoked. He buries his nose in Cas’s hair, smelling the distinctly human smell that’s there now, dried sweat and the faint lavender of Cas’s shampoo. Normally, Dean would go right back to sleep, but this morning he lies there listening to the quick in, slow out of Cas’s breathing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first night Cas was human, he tossed and turned until he tired himself out, but Dean and Benny laid awake on either side of him. By five, it was clear they weren’t going to get any sleep, so Benny slipped out of bed and tucked the covers around Cas. He smoothed the hair back from Cas’s forehead. “Coffee?” Benny mouthed to Dean, who scrubbed a hand over his face and nodded, too wrung out to think. But the quiet moment the two of them shared in the kitchen was broken by a sharp cry from the direction of their bedroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They don’t leave Cas alone in the mornings anymore. He panics. It’s something about the last time he was human, but Dean’s still fuzzy on the details. Cas has talked to Benny about it. Some.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s a soft click as Benny closes the door behind him, a creak as he settles into the armchair. Dean’s eyes drift open some time later. “Mornin’, cher,” Benny says, holding up a rich blue sweater in the lamplight and running a finger over the hem.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll like that,” Dean says quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A slow smile spreads across Benny’s face. “Just wait until he sees what Jack got him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmph,” Cas grumbles into Dean’s neck. “Sh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Benny rumbles a laugh. “I’ll make breakfast.” He folds the sweater carefully and presses a kiss to the top of Dean’s head, leans over him to kiss Cas. “Happy birthday, old man.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cas burrows further into Dean with a grunt. “First birthday. Not old.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But when Benny rests a hand on his cheek, he leans back into the touch anyway, even though he’s frowning and his eyes are screwed so far shut it’s comical. “Love you,” Benny says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love you more at a reasonable hour.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dean laughs at that and laces his fingers through Benny’s resting on Cas’s cheek. “And you said </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> an angry sleeper.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As a response, Cas snores loudly into Dean’s ear. And they stay like that until Cas’s breathing evens out again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s a special occasion, so Benny makes beignets for breakfast and they all eat at the same time. Cas sidles right up to Dean and makes direct eye contact as he bites a chunk out of a head of broccoli while they’re waiting for the last batch to fry, challenging him to say something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gross.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cas nearly drops the broccoli in surprise, whipping around to see Claire leaning against the doorframe, holding a small colorful bag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The six of them crowd around the kitchen table. Cas’s knees bump into Dean’s and Benny’s under the table from where he sits across from them between Claire and Jack. It’s tight, (especially for Sam, who has to twist around so he doesn’t elbow Jack in the face, which makes Claire laugh) and everyone except Benny gets covered in powdered sugar. But later as they head out to the garden for presents, Cas thanks Benny for breakfast by pecking him on the cheek and rubbing powdered sugar into his beard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Claire gives Cas a new pair of gardening gloves and blushes when Cas looks at her with tears shining in his eyes. Next is Benny’s, and Cas immediately pulls the sweater on over his pajamas as soon as he’s got it out of the newspaper Benny wrapped it in. The sleeves are slightly too long, but Dean’s sure that’s an excuse for Benny to take his hands and gently rolls the cuffs up. Then there’s the journal from Sam with its rich brown leather cover. He’s so distracted by this that he almost doesn’t notice Jack uncovering the chicken coop and pile of fencing to be put up once they get the actual chickens. And then there’s the planter boxes Dean built in stages while Cas helped out with Sam’s conveniently-timed archival project.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And all in all, it’s a good day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nights go like this: Dean and Benny take turns in the shower with Cas, who stays in there long enough to prune and emerges flushed and sleepy from the heat. They brush their teeth side by side, then climb into bed, where everything’s slow kisses and gentle touches and soft sounds in the lamplight. Cas slings a leg over Benny and Dean loops an arm around Cas’s waist. And they drop off, first Cas, then Benny, and finally Dean, who’s soothed by the rhythm of their breathing and whispers his love into the darkness.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>happy (very belated) birthday chayya!!! ♥ domestic dcb has taken over my life. rebloggable tumblr link <a href="https://good-things-do-happen-dean.tumblr.com/post/618692852160102400/okay-this-is-definitely-not-at-all-in-any-way-what">here!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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